Bocouture Injectables
As you grow older, you find yourself sliding toward the wrong side of the facial wrinkle scale. It is quite common to develop frown lines between the eyebrows and at the corners of the eyes (crow's feet lines). The use of a substance called botulinum toxin type A at therapeutic doses can help to minimize or erase these upper facial lines and restore a more youthful appearance to your face. Bocouture is the brand name for botulinum toxin type A (commonly known by another brand name called Botox which is made by a different manufacturer). Please continue reading to learn more about Bocouture and how it compares to Botox.
What is Bocouture?
As mentioned above, Bocouture contains botulinum toxin type A as the active substance. This is a toxin made by bacteria called Clostridium botulinum which are found in soil and water. Botulinum toxin is useful in many areas of medicine because it causes localised muscle weakness. In aesthetic medicine, this toxin is used to reduce the appearance of upper facial lines.
Bocouture is available as a powder that can be made into a sodium chloride solution for injection (intramuscular injection into the facial muscles). The dose injected is carefully controlled to get the desired effect without causing excessive muscle weakness.
How does botulinum toxin type A work?
Botulinum toxin causes neurotoxicity. However, when this toxin is collected and purified, it can be used to cause localised muscle weakness. This is useful in various health conditions, for example, to treat muscle spasms, relieve migraine headaches, reduce excessive sweating. It is also used in aesthetics to erase dynamic wrinkles that develop due to repeated facial expressions and movements.
In aesthetic and cosmetic clinics, Bocouture 50U is used to erase moderate to severe wrinkles (upper facial lines). It works by temporarily blocking the conduction at cholinergic nerve terminal receptors and thereby stopping muscle activity (the contraction of facial muscles). This leads to a diminishment of upper facial lines due to the reduced muscle activity. The results last for several months, at which time you need repeated injections to maintain the results.
What is Bocouture used for?
The proposed injection site for Bocouture can be:
• Glabellar frown lines (moderate to severe vertical lines between the eyebrows, usually visible at maximum frown).
• Crow's feet lines (moderate to severe lateral periorbital lines seen at the corner's of the eyes, usually visible at maximum smile).
• Horizontal forehead lines (moderate to severe horizontal forehead lines, usually visible at maximum frown).
How is Bocouture different from other botulinum toxins?
Bocouture is an innovative formulation of botulinum toxin type A that is free from complexing proteins. This is accomplished through an extensive purification process of the botulinum toxin complex. Therefore, compared to other types of commercially available botulinum toxin type A preparations, Bocouture contains a more pure form (150 kD) of the neurotoxin.
Complexing proteins in botulinum toxin are important because they play a role in the body's immune reaction to the product. The presence of complexing proteins leads to a reduced duration of effect. Bocouture does not have complexing proteins, or it has the lowest amount of complexing protein among all the commercially available botulinum toxins, so it does not induce antibody formation (antibodies neutralize the botulinum toxin product). In other words, the absence of complexing proteins in Bocouture allows this product to provide equally effective but longer lasting results compared to other products. Therefore, a Bocouture injection procedure can allow you to extend the duration between your initial and repeat treatment and subsequent treatments.
Nonetheless, while complexing proteins are important when larger doses of botulinum toxin are used for medical purposes, there are questions about the importance of complexing proteins at the considerably lower doses used for cosmetic treatments.
It is worth noting that there are differences in potency between the different botulinum toxins, so they cannot be replaced unit for unit. Therefore, Botox (conventional botulinum toxin type A) and Bocouture are not interchangeable without applying a dosing conversion ratio.
Bocouture vs Botox: Is Bocouture as good as Botox?
Yes, in fact, Bocouture may even be better than Botox. As mentioned above, Bocouture provides equally effective but longer lasting results compared to other alternative treatment methods because Bocouture is free from complexing proteins.
Is Bocouture safe?
Repeated dose toxicity studies have found that botulinum toxin is safe at the doses used in cosmetic applications. Bocouture (botulinum toxin type A) has been commercially available in the UK for over a decade now under the brand name Xeomin which is used for medical applications like blepharospasm (involuntary eyelid fluttering) and cervical dystonia (neck spasms). It has been approved for cosmetic use for more than a decade and is used to treat moderate to severe glabellar frown lines.
Who is a good candidate for Bocouture?
Bocouture can temporary improve the appearance of glabellar frown lines between the eyebrows, forehead lines, and crow's feet lines. This injection product is approved for use in adults under the age of 65 years. Anyone who is bothered by lines between the eyebrows or around the eyes can benefit from Bocouture treatments.
Some people with subcutaneous tissue disorders or peripheral neuromuscular dysfunction may not be candidates for Bocouture procedures. For example, those with nerve/muscle disorders like myasthenia gravis cannot have this procedure. Also, patients who have undergone prior surgical procedures or patients receiving anticoagulant therapy or those with bleeding disorders may not be deemed suitable candidates for an injection procedure such as Bocouture.
How long does Bocouture 50U last?
Peripheral muscle relaxants such as Bocouture 50U do not provide permanent results. Rather, it is a temporary improvement in the appearance of glabellar frown lines and crow's feet lines. The injections can have a minor or moderate influence at the proposed injection site and the duration of the results can vary from patient to patient. In general, there is an improvement in glabellar frown lines about 2-3 days after the treatment and the results last for up to 4 months. For crow's feet lines, the treatment effect occurs in about 6 days and the results last for around 3 months after a Bocouture injection procedure. Improvement in forehead lines is noticeable within a week of Bocouture treatment, and the effect lasts for around 4 months.
What are the side effects of Bocouture and conventional botulinum toxin type A?
It is important to choose an experienced aesthetic medical professional for your Bocouture injections because many of the complications of this treatment can be prevented with the correct injection technique and good clinical practice guidelines.
In general, it is common for patients to experience a mild localised inflammatory reaction at the injection sites. The undesirable effects related to Bocouture can include localised pain, redness, itching, and swelling. These adverse reactions of botulinum toxin usually disappear within a week. Other common side effects of Bocouture may include headaches and a sensation of heaviness in the upper face.
Rarely, there can be more serious complications due to exaggerated muscle weakness resulting in swollen or drooping eyelids. Other adverse reactions include blurred vision, nausea, fainting, nodule formation in the skin, and insomnia. Hypersensitivity reactions (allergies) to botulinum toxin or any of the other ingredients in the product can also occur.
Finding an aesthetic medical professional for Bocouture or other muscle relaxants
If you want to do something about forehead lines or glabellar frown lines between the eyebrows, Bocouture may be right for you. The only way to find out is to contact an aesthetic medical professional. And the easiest way to do this is through the MeTime app. In the MeTime app, you can chat with Bocouture providers near you, share photos, do a video call, get quotes, and much more. What are you waiting for? Say goodbye to forehead lines and glabellar frown lines. Download the MeTime app today.
